The Malik Report

Riley Sheahan, the Detroit Red Wings No 1 pick in the 2010 NHL draft who's currently with the Grand Rapids Griffins, was arrested Oct. 29 for driving with a "superdrunk" alcohol content more than two times the legal limit.

Sheahan, 20, was arrested and charged with driving with a blood-alcohol content of .17 or higher and providing false information after he was stopped going the wrong way on Ottawa Avenue, near Pearl Street, shortly before midnight on Monday, Oct. 29, according to Grand Rapids Police Sgt. Allen Noles.

The blood-alcohol charge, under what is also known as the “super drunk” law, could carry up to 180 days in jail with a conviction.

Comments

There was a time when many Sabres fans like myself would have loved to have Sheahan in the pipeline. In fact, Darcy Regier was openly lamenting not having the opportunity to draft him. He’s been playing well for the Griffs and could still be great for the Wings, but there’s no question this is a blot on his record when it comes to a kid who was supposed to be a character guy.

Hitting a .17+ BA and being 20 means he actually likely drunk his age.

And by the way, a .17+ is really, really drunk. Like, blackout-level drunk. That’s not ‘innocent drinking’, that’s out of control super-binge drinking, and then compounding that with the awfully stupid decision to get behind the wheel.

Well, first of all, let’s not overreact in terms of the “character issues” narrative, because most kids do stupid things at that age. Maybe not this stupid, but pretty stupid. Most just don’t get caught.

That being said, if the report is true, he should be throw in jail. Not really any excuse for getting in a car after drinking in this day and age. Everyone knows the laws. Everyone knows the dangers of drunk driving. And even in a city like Grand Rapids, you can call a cab and wait. Not that hard. Not expensive.

Let us not forget that a DUI makes it exponentially more difficult for NHL players since a conviction can bar someone from crossing the US/CAN border. That makes this stupid decision MONUMENTALLY stupid.

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The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.